The admission process in higher education is daunting for administrators. But here's a secret to accelerate admissions and increase student enrollment in colleges and universities. Many educators wish they had more students and achieve their goals and targets. Instructors want their college and campus to engage with connected minds with a robust student admission system because students learn in a collaborative environment. That's why technology integration with student admissions will set you apart if you can avoid these five common mistakes that many colleges make during the admission process.
1. Not replacing paper application forms
Most of the students applying for admission to courses have to stand in long queues to collect hard-copy application forms, fill in the academic details and submit the completed application forms before the due date. The college management hasn’t considered the accessibility, operation costs, maintenance of records, wastage of paper or manpower requirement to distribute the applications. They will realize that eliminating paper-intensive processes will promote a green campus.
2. Not automating admissions
Many colleges and universities that recruit students haven’t researched key things like process automation and key performance metrics to boost enrollment. Simplify and automate academic processes for multiple departments and campuses to deliver substantial annual cost savings for your institution.
3. Not tracking the applicants
Many colleges and universities often overlook this: track the application and allotment status in real-time throughout the admission process and communicate with the students. Providing easy access to information through automated email notifications, SMS & messaging delivers timely communication to prospects and improves the student experience significantly.
4. Not optimizing resources
Colleges are having difficulty in hiring faculty and staff with needed skills. Enrolling more students in colleges and universities is exciting. But what happens is that it will increase the workload of staff and lacks of proper allocation of resources for admissions. Online admission process with automatic assignment of the application for review and selection will reduce manpower and brings happiness to staff.
5. Not planning for the future
Every college or university has a different schedule and process. It takes a long time to process and finalize the admission paperwork. Streamlining the admission process can help institutions to plan admissions more effectively and easily achieve enrollment targets.
Exploring options for an easier and faster student admission system with cloud, mobile, and analytics will improve collaboration between faculty, students, and staff and improve student success. Once you explore all that's implemented in your college, your unique admission processes and constituent experiences will set you apart.